Mia Hamm (center) became the most recognizable face in women's soccer, but finding a successor has been a challenge.

Elise Amendola/Associated Press files

Former Germantown High star Cindy Parlow (left) was a key member of the 1999 U.S. Women's team, which won the World Cup on Brandi Chastain's famous goal.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press files

Ten years after Brandi Chastain's penalty-kick winning goal in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup -- and her bra-baring celebration that followed -- women's soccer is still largely on the outskirts in this country.

The triumph by the national team, which included former Germantown High star Cindy Parlow, propelled women's soccer in the U.S. from fringe sport to brief celebrity status. But except for the national team's popularity, it has struggled since then.

The Women's United Soccer Association, started in 2001, failed to capitalize on the national team's success. It lasted three seasons and folded in 2003, $100 million in debt.

University of Memphis women's soccer coach Brooks Monaghan said officials and investors overestimated the public's interest in professional women's soccer when planning the new league.

"The world saw a sold-out crowd in the Rose Bowl when the U.S. won the World Cup and thought, 'Wow we can do this week to week,'" Monaghan said.

Now, 10 years after the most-attended women's game in history, a new league has started -- the Women's Professional Soccer league kicked off in April with seven teams and plans for 10 franchises by 2010.

Rob Penner, WPS director of communications, said the league is focusing on current expectations instead of the popular demand seen 10 years ago.

"The (1999 World Cup victory) is part of the DNA of women's soccer today, no question," Penner said. "But we also need to look at where we are today in the sports landscape."

Monaghan said marketing and a winning program can create a higher interest in women's sports. But he said promoting soccer in America is a cultural, not a gender, struggle.

"It'll always be hard to compare soccer -- whether it's men or women -- to basketball or football," Monaghan said. "I hope I'm wrong, but we're a ways from that."

The WPS had scheduled a camp at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in late June and hoped to drive participation with an appearance by Cat Whitehill of the Washington Freedom.

But the league postponed the camp and eventually canceled it due to "registration numbers."

Memphis had its own pro team earlier this decade. The W-League, a second-tier pro league, started a Memphis affiliate in 2000, but the team closed in 2003.

Christian Brothers University women's soccer coach Kieron Heblich said a successful professional league could inspire more girls to continue with soccer instead of other sports.

"It does generate a lot more optimism," he said. "It's something there for you to aim for."

Collierville Soccer Association director of coaching Paul Furlong said, though, that the Memphis area has a growing girl's and women's soccer community no matter the status of the pro game. He said he has also seen an increase in female coaches with more players graduating from college and continuing with soccer.

"Eight years ago, it was fairly tough to get a female coach," he said. "It really is a trickle-down effect from what happened 10 years ago."

In the case of the Collierville Soccer Association, there's no shortage of players. The CSA has 24 all-girl competitive teams and girls make up more than half of the club's players.

While Furlong has witnessed soccer's growth, he said the process will take more time.

"It's slowly changing," he said. "It's always going to be a big uphill fight against the big American sports."